Concept of Heaven in different religions

In Hinduism, Swarga is Heaven, ruled by Indra, a Vedic God. It is a place of sensual delights where souls of virtuous people are believed to go & stay until their merits are exhausted & they have to be reborn. It is to be noted that Indra is not one of the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu or Shiva & also not one of the ten divine incarnations of Vishnu. The Ultimate goal of a Hindu is not Swarga but Moksha, liberation from the cycle of birth & death. It can be noted in passing that residence in Swarga is temporary & Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth, is notoriously fickle.

The Christian idea of Heaven is also non-sensual, because The Virgin Mary, who had to watch her son being crucified at a young age, is called "The Queen of Heaven." This idea is also reinforced in Bunyan's "The Pilgrim's Progress" where the Pilgrim Christian's goal is "The Celestial City", the abode of God, who is believed to have sent his Son, Jesus Christ to earth.

In Quran (56:3), it is stated that people will be divided into three multitudes after death: those on the right (blessed shall be those because they go to Jannat, the Islamic Heaven of sensual delights); those on the left (damned shall be those because they go to Jahannam, the Islamic Hell of endless pain); & those to the fore (foremost shall be those because they shall be brought near to Allah.) The third group are believed to be the Sufis, also called "Tasawwuf." These are also engaged in "The Higher Jihad" which is spiritually purifying oneself. It is quite clear that Allah does not reside in Jannat, the Islamic paradise.